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Digital strategy and plan

Dalhousie University’s first digital strategy is a people-centric, comprehensive plan for Dal’s digital infrastructure, supporting teaching, learning, research, the student experience, and administrative functions at Dal.

Explore the digital strategy

The Digital Strategy was developed through an extensive consultation process with the Dalhousie community and addresses a wide variety of gaps and priorities.

Download the digital strategy Explore the overarching themes Review our strategic pillars Watch the video Learn more about the background and process
Students sit around table working on laptops.

Overarching themes

Across all strategic areas, the Digital Strategy will include overarching and integrated themes:

Shared values

Dalhousie’s digital environment will reflect and support our values of inclusiveness, equity, diversity, accessibility, seamlessness, integration, lifelong learning, transparency, sustainability, privacy, security, digital literacy, and community focus.

Integration

Well-integrated and well-supported systems and platforms will enable all users to thrive.

Shared data

Data is an institutional asset, which supports transparent and data-informed decision-making.

Communications and training

Improved communications on governance, systems availability, and training opportunities will increase cooperation and digital competency. 

User-focused

Keeping the user experience simple, accessible, and barrier-free is a guiding principle.

Innovation and creativity

Encourage a culture that supports innovation, creativity, experimentation, and risk-taking.

 

Strategic pillars

The five pillars of the strategy closely align with Dal’s strategic plan, approved by the Board of Governor in June 2021. The Digital Strategy provides foundational digital supports to enable the achievement of the goals in the strategic plan.

Digitally supported, differentiated pedagogy, and exceptional student experiences

Goals

1.1. Create online learning experiences of exceptional quality. 
1.2. Integrate digital literacy as a core skill for all students to acquire through their academic programs. 
1.3. Develop a strategy for a digital campus encompassing all aspects of the student journey.

  • Create an integrated, barrier-free digital research environment to stimulate and support innovation and achievement of research goals, and to enhance the researcher and student experience.

Digitally competent students, staff, and faculty

Goals

2.1. Enhance digital literacy through ongoing training and support for faculty and staff. 
2.2. Enable everyone to be mobile-ready and normalize and enable remote work, when appropriate. 
2.3. Keep the user experience simple by adopting person-focused accessible systems and applications. 
2.4. Improve access to the systems, tools, and broadband needed to successfully engage as a member of the Dalhousie community.

  • Create an integrated, barrier-free digital research environment to stimulate and support innovation and achievement of research goals, and to enhance the researcher and student experience.

Seamless, enabling digital research environments

Goals

3.1. Design a framework for development, maintenance, and enhancement of digital infrastructure that supports innovation and achievement of research goals. 
3.2. Create a researcher-oriented digital environment.

  • Create an integrated, barrier-free digital research environment to stimulate and support innovation and achievement of research goals, and to enhance the researcher and student experience.

Digitally enhanced relationships and services

Goals

4.1. Grow community relationships, profile, and impact using digitally enabled systems. 
4.2. Adopt a user-journey approach and improve how we communicate with, and inform, our Dalhousie communities, both internal and external. 
4.3. Improve community access to Dalhousie learning experiences and expertise by lowering geographic, economic, and cultural barriers of access.

  • Enhance flexibility, accessibility, and innovation in open and inclusive digital environments to enrich internal engagement and expand our service to diverse local and global communities; to develop breakthrough research and innovation, to drive sustainable, economic growth; and to contribute to cultural and social development.

Ethical, effective governance, sustainable, responsive, future-ready

Goals

5.1. Design transparent, visible digital governance that enables ethical, environmentally, and financially sustainable decisions. 
5.2. Utilize a university-wide approach to systems, software and equipment acquisitions to ensure integration, coordination, security, privacy, and cost-effectiveness. 
5.3. Facilitate data as an institutional asset. 
5.4. Improve efficiency and effectiveness for teaching, research, and business processes by digitizing processes and reducing fragmentation of administrative services.

  • The human element is the central governing factor in developing our digital infrastructure, to ensure that investments in technology are made in support of Dalhousie’s mission.

  • Dal’s accessible and person-centered digital environment will foster a shared systems culture that protects privacy and security, and enables accessibility, while being supported by training and communications.
  • We will implement approaches, processes, and functions that reinforce exceptional teaching, research, and student experiences, as well as effective and efficient administration, with integrated, flexible digital platforms, data, and applications.

Watch: A people-first approach to technology

The Digital Strategy was developed through an extensive consultation process with the Dalhousie community and addresses a wide variety of gaps and priorities.

Want to know more about Dal's Digital Strategy?

Background and process